Leading the Charge

Quest Giver: Kibli Killohertz — Hidden Alliance airport above Aldur’thar [54.0, 42.9]

Objective: Kill 40 Bombardment Infantry, 8 Bombardment Captains, and 15 Gargoyle Ambushers using the infra-green bomber.

Quick Facts

• Level: 80
• Prerequisite: Killohertz
• Unlocks: Static Shock Troops: the Bombardment and Putting the Hertz: The Valley of Lost Hope dailies.
• Failure Penalty: If your plane is destroyed, you receive a “Flight Orders” debuff that prevents taking another flight for a period. You can try again immediately in most cases despite the debuff text.

Walkthrough

Board the Bomber

• Speak with Karen No at the hidden airport (next to the Alliance flag pillar, same platform as Killohertz). She puts you in an infra-green bomber that flies on an automated patrol route over the Bombardment area south of Aldur’thar. You do not control the flight path.

Return to Kibli before you finish and he drops the enthusiasm: “The bombers are difficult to use, but you must master them if we’re to win our struggles against the Scourge.”

Bomber Modes

The bomber has three modes that you switch between during the flight:

Priority Order

1. Gargoyles first. They set your plane on fire. If you ignore them, you’ll burn down fast. Turn the AA turret backward and clear the pack chasing you.
2. Fires second. The moment you see the fire emote, switch to Engineer mode and extinguish it.
3. Bombs third. Once the air is clear and your plane is healthy, switch to Bomber mode and spam bombs on the infantry and captains below.

Tips

• Both mouse buttons aim the turret. This is the single most common source of confusion. Many assume it fires straight ahead. You need to hold both buttons and move the mouse to rotate the turret toward the gargoyles behind you.
• Shield management: The bomber has an infra-green shield. Keep an eye on the shield timer in the top-right of your screen. The shield absorbs damage, but gargoyle fire still causes the plane to catch fire even through the shield.
• Captains (stitched brute abominations) are the harder ground targets. They’re larger and take multiple bombs. Prioritize dropping at least 2 bombs on each one when you pass over them.
• The AA turret can hit ground targets too. If you’re between gargoyle waves, you can shoot down at infantry with the AA turret rather than switching modes.
• Don’t land on the Horde tower. The opposing faction’s airport is on the other tower of Aldur’thar. Flying near it or landing on it will get you killed by PvP NPCs.
• Addon conflicts: XPerl and some other unit frame addons have been reported to interfere with the vehicle UI. If your mode buttons don’t respond, try disabling addons or doing a /reload.
• If the quest bugs mid-flight (modes stop responding, gargoyles become invisible), just ride it out and try again on the next flight.

Efficiency Tips

• This quest is the gateway to two of the more enjoyable Icecrown dailies: Static Shock Troops: the Bombardment (shorter run) and Putting the Hertz: The Valley of Lost Hope (longer run, also includes Frostbrood Sentries and Scourge War Machines). Both become repeatable daily quests.
• You can shoot down opposing faction players’ bombers with the AA turret as they pass through the same airspace. This gives a “Confirmed Kill” buff, though it doesn’t appear to provide any mechanical benefit beyond bragging rights.

Explore Icecrown’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Icecrown Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.